ARM
Media Statement - 5 July 1999
Republic
bill must tell the people what they are actually voting
on, says ARM submission to Parliamentary Committee
The Australian Republican Movement
(ARM) today proposed three changes to legislation
which will have an impact on the nation's consideration
of whether an Australian selected by Australians becomes
our Head of State following this year's November 6
referendum.
The ARM's submission to the Joint Select Committee
examining the Constitution Alteration (Establishment
of Republic) Bill 1999 argues that the long
title of the Bill which will appear on the ballot
paper in November should more accurately represent
what is proposed and that changes should be made to
sections dealing with the dismissal procedures of
the President and membership of the public nomination
committee which recommends candidates for Head of
State.
Appearing before the Committee, the chair of the ARM,
Malcolm Turnbull, argued that:
-
the
long title of the Bill which appears on the ballot
paper should accurately reflect what is being
proposed. At the moment, the proposed long title
of the Bill does not mention that the Bill seeks
to replace the Queen with an Australian Head of
State, does not mention the public nomination
process for Presidential candidates and seeks
to indicate that the Head of State is "chosen"
by the Parliament, when in fact the nominee is
"approved", following the public nomination process
and bi-partisan agreement the Prime Minister and
Opposition Leader. The ARM proposes that the long
title of the Bill be as follows:
"A
Bill to alter the Constitution to provide for
an Australian citizen to replace the Queen as
Australia's Head of State, following consideration
of nominations submitted by the people and approved
by a two-thirds majority of a joint sitting
of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament."
-
the
dismissal procedure proposed should faithfully
reflect the will of the Constitutional Convention
by stating that if after dismissing a Head of
State, the Prime Minister's action is not ratified
by the House of Representatives, such a vote would
constitute a vote of no confidence in the Prime
Minister. Inclusion of this in the dismissal process
imposes a formal discipline on the Prime Minister
and makes the Prime Minister more accountable
for his or her actions to the people via the Parliament;
-
criteria
for membership of the Presidential Nominations
Committee. The Convention resolved that membership
of this critical committee should reflect federalism,
gender, age and cultural diversity of the nation.
This should be included in the legislation, instead
of the present mention - "committee has 16 community
members."
"We
urge the Joint Select Committee," said Mr Turnbull,
"to keep faith with the recommendations of the Constitutional
Convention. It is also very important that what Australians
see on the ballot paper is what is really reflected
in the Bill to change the Constitution. That is why
the long-title of the Bill, which will appear on the
ballot paper must be true to what is proposed.
"Not
mentioning the Queen or the public nomination process
would be highly inaccurate and misleading. I am certain,
in this light, that the Parliament does want people
to know for they are voting. The present title of
the Bill poses a big risk that voters will be left
in the dark."
Authorised by Malcolm Turnbull, Australian
Republican Movement, 60 Park Street, Sydney NSW 2000
